“There should be no delay between taxpayers and the returns on their investments in research,” wrote Alondra Nelson in new White House guidance on boosting public access to federally funded research. But will the Nelson memo jeopardize academic publishers bottom lines?

Catch up on our recent chat with SocArXiv founding director Philip Cohen at the Standard Error blog.

Visit: https://stderr-editors.com/blog/nelson-memo-and-the-dinosaurs/

#AcademicPublishing #OpenScience #Preprints #PreprintPlatforms #OSTP

@DrPlanktonguy @strypey
1. The new policies under the #OSTP memo will abolish #embargoes and require immediate or unembargoed #OpenAccess.
2. There are more #DiamondOA journals (no-APC OA journals) than APC-based OA journals, even if most articles pub'd by OA journals are in the APC-based variety. Not a "very small number."

@strypey @DrPlanktonguy
1. Fed-funded authors can publish in high-impact subscription (non-OA) journals and pay no #APCs. Their work will still be #OpenAccess through the funder's designated repository.
2. Some no-fee OA journals (#DiamondOA) are already high-impact and the number grows steadily.
3. Some high-impact journals will charge no APCs and still allow #unembargoed #GreenOA (as required by the #OSTP policies). An important example is @ScienceMagazine.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade8028

@strypey @DrPlanktonguy
Under the #OSTP guidelines, covered works must be deposited in designated repositories (#GreenOA). This is compatible with publishing in OA journals (#GoldOA). But gold OA (with or without #APCs) is not necessary & not sufficient.

Compliance with the #OpenAccess policies is free of charge. If a journal charges an APC to pub an author’s fed-funded research, the fee is to pub in that particular journal, not to comply with the policy. Authors always have no-fee options.

Good letter from the Fully OA group of publishers opposing the attempt to cut off funding to implement the #OSTP #OpenAccess policies.
https://fullyoapublishers.org/2023/08/07/the-fully-oa-group-respond-to-the-house-appropriations-committee/

#OAintheUSA

Update. The US Department of #Energy (#DOE) just issued a call for public comments on its own draft plan to live up to the August 2022 #OSTP memo (#NelsonMemo).
https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-releases-plan-ensure-free-immediate-and-equitable-access-federally

#OAintheUSA

Update. #NASA just released the draft update to its #OpenAccess policy, to live up to the #Biden #OSTP #NelsonMemo.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_ocs_public_access_plan_may_2023.pdf

Also see its call for public comments (due August 17, 2023).
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/18/2023-10643/request-for-information-nasa-public-access-plan-for-increasing-access-to-the-results-of

The US is rejoining #UNESCO (which it quit under #Trump).
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230612-us-plans-to-rejoin-unesco-from-july-ending-membership-dispute

Although the US is already strengthening its #OpenAccess policies under the #OSTP #NelsonMemo, its renewed participation in UNESCO is a good opportunity to endorse, and then follow, the UNESCO #OpenScience recommendations to all member states.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949.locale=en

#OAintheUSA

The US National Science Foundation (#NSF) just released the draft update to its #OpenAccess policy, as requested by the #Biden #OSTP (#NelsonMemo).
https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/2023-06/NSF23104.pdf

I'm digesting it now but wanted it to share first.

While dated Feb 23, 2023, it was released today.

#NASA is calling for public comments on its plan to upgrade its #OpenAccess policy to live up to the Nelson memo.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/18/2023-10643/request-for-information-nasa-public-access-plan-for-increasing-access-to-the-results-of

#OAintheUSA #OSTP

#arXiv, @biorxivpreprint, and @medrxivpreprint have released their public comments on the the #OSTP #NelsonMemo.

From arXiv
https://info.arxiv.org/about/OSTP-04-11-2023.html

From bioRxiv and medRxiv
https://connect.biorxiv.org/news/2023/04/11/ostp_response

PS: There's a distinct echo of #Plan_U in these comments, tho without using the term. I'm glad to see it's still alive. Here's some background from 2019.
http://planu.org/

#bioRxiv, #medRxiv, #OAintheUSA

Update. The US Department of #Transportation just issued a similar call for public comments. It hasn't released a plan for upgrading its current policy but calls for comments "on issues or topics the #DOT should consider as it updates the DOT Public Access Plan in response to new White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (#OSTP) guidance."
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/28/2023-06373/increasing-public-access-to-the-results-of-usdot-funded-transportation-research

Comments are due by May 10, 2023.

Thank-you to the #IPLC #library directors for this strong statement in support of the White House #OSTP Nelson memo.
https://libraries.mit.edu/news/libraries-support-3/34036/

"Implementing the Nelson memo via an #APC model is antithetical to the equity goals so clearly articulated in the guidance memo and the values of our institutions."

The #NIH just released the draft update to its #OpenAccess policy and called for public comments. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-23-091.html

This is the update required by the August 2022 Nelson memo from the White House #OSTP.

More later.

@gepasi @StatGenDan
SN is turning off a script that worked. Setting it up (with or without #SWORD) might have been an expense. But once built & debugged, it's trivial to maintain. Agreed that SN is saying it doesn't want to help.

Also probably saying it doesn't want to automate deposits to all the other repositories to be designated by all the other fed agencies under the #OSTP memo.

This is an opportunity for other pubs to steal fed-funded authors from SN.

#PubMedCentral #SpringerNature

Excellent grad student response to the #OSTP #openaccess policy guidelines.
https://issues.org/reform-academic-publishing-forum/

After applauding the Nelson memo: "Early-career researchers [#ECR]…might struggle to comply with new open-access guidelines if they need to pay a high article publishing fee [#APC] to make their research open in a journal…valued by their institutions’ promotion and tenure guidelines…It is imperative that the [publishing process] not shift from a 'pay-to-read' model to a 'pay-to-publish' model."

@sje @tomstafford
Sorry, I don't know more than you've reported. #APA is excluding itself from publishing many authors, e.g. those funded by #UKRI, #Plan_S, and others. The US #OSTP is now asking US federal funders to support reuse, which will have the same effect. Does the APA know this? Is it planning to make itself eligible to publish this large quantity of high-quality research?

#OSTP declared this the "Year of Open Access," but that's not the only driver for publishers to innovate in 2023.

Hum & Silverchair asked 13 experts to share how tech like AI & multi-media content will shape the scholarly publishing world this year. Get the report: https://www.silverchair.com/news/tech-trends-2023/

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy just called 2023 the Year of Open Science and summarized what the US govt will do to live up to it.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2023/01/11/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-advance-open-and-equitable-research/

#OpenScience #OSTP #USA #OAintheUSA

The White House OSTP has published a helpful FAQ on their public access guidance - worth a read given the implications on all research stakeholders and, importantly, publishers.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/12/20/frequently-asked-questions-2022-public-access-policy-guidance/ #ostp #openaccess #openscience #ResearchPolicy